Marking gauge for mortised door locks



March 15, 1932. J. E. SNELLING MARKING GUAGE FOR MORTISED DOOR LOCKS Filed Nov. 21, 1928 [22 1/221 20 r JIvmas B. .Shelhng Attonneg Patented Mar. 15, 1932 Barren simrss JAMES E. SNELLING, 015 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, JASSIGNOR 0F ONE-FOURTH TO JOHN R. REYNOLDS AND OQTE FOURTH T0 DAPHNE R. REYNOLDS, BOTH LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

MARKING GAUGE son Mon'rIsnn noon LOCKS I Application-filed November 21, 1928, Serial 11'0. 20,917.

This invention relates to gaugesand deals specifically with a gauge such as may be used by carpenters for marking a door for a mortised lock. 1 p

,6 It is commonpractice among carpenters, when mounting a mortised lock on a door to first wedge the vdoor stationary by means of a chisel or other suitable means and then measure up to the proper height for either 10 the base or the top of the lock. The lock is then held as nearly as possible in proper position on one side of the door while themarks for boring the key hole and handle, hole are punched. or penciled. The same operation is 1 performed on the opposite side of thedoor with the result that a'great many times,the -marks on opposite sides'of the door do not correspond. The consequence of this, when the holes are bored from each side, is to pro-.

' luce a crooked hole, which necessitates reaming to-allow the knob to rotate freely or the other key to enter the look.

After the sides of the door are thus marked, the edge of the door is next scored for mortising to receive the plate of the lock. Here another chance for error permitsthe lock to be thus positioned so that even if the'knob holes and the ke holes aligned, the mortise upon the edge of the door would throw the lock out of position.

To avoid these objectionable features and in an effort to simplify and expedite carpenter work, especially in mounting locks, I oon ceived the idea of providing a gauge that would mark the front and both sides of the door at one and the same setting. In order to facilitate the marking, I equipped my gauge with points that are an integral part of the device which obviates the necessity of holding the gauge with one hand while searching for a pencil to make a mark, thus eliminating the possibility of a slippage and the consequent necessity of a resetting.

My invention contemplates a device that may be carried in an apron pocketand which may be readily and accuratelyused to indicate the points for boring a door to mount a mortised lock.

Having set forth the principal objects "vice, seen on line 1--1 of Fig. 2;

showncomprising a channel shaped member A having wings B hingedly mounted as away as illustrated at 16 to bring the edges 'indicating'the location of the knob.

:and advantages of my invention, recourse is nowhad to 'thedrawmgs, in which: *Fig. 1 is a center line-section of my de- Fig. 2 is an end elevation; Fig.3 is a perspective of the same; I Fig. 1 is -a fragmentary perspectiveshowing the marks 'upon'a door.

: Referring to thedrawings, my device is shown at 12 on the legs 11 of the channel. The hinge in this" instance, 'is shown "as stamped outof the material of the channel and wings,'but I do notconfine myself to this structure as the hinges may be mounted independently. v

The Wings B. are equipped with marker .points 13 and 14 which areshown as stamped from the metal of the wingi'tself. This struc ture, however, is optional as the marker points may be soldered on, and equal results obtained thereby. As shown in Fig. 1,]the top and bottom edges of the leaf'B are cut 7 even with the points 13 and 14 as indicated bythe dotted lines.

. Also the side of Bis cutback as shown-fat 15 to bring it flush. with'the line yy passin g through the points13 and'l l. The purpose of cutting back the 'edges as described, is to permit placing the points 'on a -line, such as for instance, the height line on the door The web 10 of the channelQA is equipped with. markers 20 at'theupper and lower ends thereof. These markers indent a line-on the edge. of the door,which indicates thetop and bottom respectively, of the mortise for the plate of the look, while theirflen'g'th would .99 show the widthof the mortise, They also "serve as stops for bringing'the markers 13 and 14-. into the1r proper position. Intermedi ate these markers,is a pluralityof aligned points WlllCll upon pressing into the wood ofthe door,ma-ke a series'of aligned indentations, each indicating the point at-which a hole should be bored to formthe mortise for thelock. It will be understood 'that the znumber :of :suchsmarkers upon each gauge 3? depends upon the size of the lock and the size of the bit used in boring; it being only necessary that the holes are sufficiently close to permit the sides of the mortise to be smoothed up with a chiselor other suitable tool. It is also understood that these markers, while in this instance are shown as being struck from the metal, may equally as well,

be soldered or riveted to the web 10 of'the' channel A. .7 To give the device a neat workmanhke appearance, I cut away the tip and bottom edges of the legsll of the channel A as shown at 18.

In using my device, the height ofthe knob is first measured; the door being left'free to swing. My device with the wings B set as shownat is, is slipped over the edge of the door and brought to the proper height by bringing the edge 16 to the line showing the height of the knob. A sharp blow by the hand on the back of the device serves to make the marks on the edge of the doors, after which the wings Bare either pressed into place or slapped into place by the hand. It

is manifest from this that the operation is simple and accurate. The accuracy is obtained by causing the marks on opposite sides of the door to absolutely correspond as well as .insuring that the mortising on the edge of the: door will correspond with the side markings.

i In Fig. 4, I show the edge of a door having the markingsfas they would appear after using my'gauge. Mark 13 locates the bore for the knob handle of the lock and mark 1 L locates thepointof boring the keyhole. The indented lines 20' denote the top and bottom of the mortise for the plate of the lock, while the aligned marks 21 indicate the points movements of the hands. By making the device symmetrical, I eliminate any chance of its being used improperly; there is no top nor bottom rightfully speaking. Consequently the device may be used reversibly, and the results would bethe same.

When not in use, the wings B of the device are closed as shown at L, L which serves to 7 keep the points protected as well as decrease its size for pocket carrying. p

Having set forth and described one embodiment of my invention, 1. am aware that certain modifications and refinements may be incorporated therein. 'For instance, it is manifestly clear that fixed dimensions will not serve all looks. I therefore, reserve the right to adopt such alterations in the nature of refinements and modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the specifications nor the purview ofthe appended claims.

I claimz;

.1. A marking gauge of the character described comprising a unitary channel shaped member for positioning astride the edge of a door, wings hingedly mounted upon the legs of said channel shaped member, markers upon sald w ngs for marking upon opposite sides of a door the knob holeand the keyhole for a lock, markers on the ends of the channel shaped member for marking the mortise for the plate of the lock and for marking the Width of the mortise for the lock on the edge of .thedoor,.said markers serving as stops I when abutting against the edge of the door to bring the markers on said wings into their proper position. U 1 e 2. A marking gauge ofthecharacter described comprising a unitary channel shaped,

member for positioning astride the edge of a door, wings hingedly mounted upon the legs of said channel shaped .member, markers upon said wings for marking upon oppositesides of a door the knobhole and the keyhole for a lock, markers on the ends of the channel shaped member forfmarking the mortise for the plate of the lockand for marking the width of the mortise for thelock on the edge of the door, said markers serving as stops 7 when abutting against the edge of the door. to bring the markers on said wings into their 1 i.

proper position, and alignedpoints projecting inwardly from the web. of said channel shaped member projecting therefrom beyond the plane of the markers on the ends of said channel shaped member for forming a series of aligned indentations on the edge of the door.v

In testimony whereof, I have affixed my JAMES SNELLING.

signature. 

